The Devil's Black Hand
by GodPen
Summary: They are always there to lend you a hand out of the dark gloom... they are always there... you may know them... maybe not... but even so... their hand is there to grab, and if you are wise... You'll take it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY D.I.B.! This is dedicated to you!


To DIB: Well, I did ask for you to remind me when you're birthday was, otherwise I might have forgotten, and wouldn't have posted this on time. Anyway, I tried to imagine what kind of stories you'd like, so I decided to mention certain times that I hope you remember. I don't really mind if nobody else reads this, as long as you do, otherwise, this redundant jester will have to cry. I made this story with the idea of One Piece and Fairy Tail in mind, though no intentional references in this story have been made. Enjoy!

* * *

(Justin's POV)

"What am I missing?" Justin Kay, a scrawny, Asian kid, with black hair and brown eyes stared up into the sky. Another day had passed, like the last, but so much different. Class had gone by, Queen Marianne was still his elementary school, he'd laughed with his class, and joked around with his friends. But at the end of the day, when all the indistinct chatter and laughter ceased, the quiet of the evening passed, a calm serene that strongly took hold of him.

"What am I doing with my life?" Of course, being young and inexperienced, there was so much the boy didn't know. He wondered, and pondered, imagining countless scenarios his life could go through. Another hour passed, and he was content to gazing at the sky, letting his thoughts momentarily clear of its worries. The clouds lazily claimed the sky, with the sun hiding behind them, searching for any narrows escape. It found one, shining its rays right into Justin's eyes, and he squished his eyes squeezed shut to avoid blindness. When the blinding light finally faded, he opened his eyes again, glad that the clouds wouldn't allow for much light.

He glanced to his side, and saw his student teacher, Grace Hazel, walking by, and sitting on a nearby bench. She had her computer with her, and began to intensely stare at the screen, typing in some sort of mad frenzy. She had auburn hair, glasses, and a cheerful face. Today she was wearing a black jacket with a grey arrow struck heart, and denim jeans.

When she first introduced herself to his class, for some strange reason, the other problematic children in his class warmed up to her immediately, telling her all sorts of things they would have never shared with anyone else, and confiding in her with serious faces.

When he'd asked some of those kids about it, several had said the same thing: She just feels like she knows what we're talking about, and it's easy to be around her.

'Good thing she's leaving tomorrow, that's just creepy' He continued to stare at her for a few seconds longer, then what he'd just said about her processed his brain and he slapped his forehead.

"Right, and what I'm doing is any better" He groaned. Getting up and dusting himself off, his watch told him that it was time to get back home before his mother started to worry.

* * *

(Grace's POV)

"He's left" Grace watches intently as the lone figure walks away. A voice comes from the computer.

"Good for him, he probably doesn't want to worry his parents" Grace kept his eyes on the boy.  
"Or, because it's freezing out here and he wants to get warm. Why the hell am I only wearing jeans and a jacket anyway? Who told me that it would be hot out today?" There was a few clicking noises on the other side of the line.

"Well, seems my phone had a bit of a bug, and temporarily displayed the wrong temperatures" Grace frowned.  
"How bad?"

"It said 120 degrees Celsius" Grace's face connected with the wooden table.

"No human could survive that! ARE YOU EVEN THINKING RIGHT!?" Silence.

"Oh yeah…" Grace clicked a button, cutting off the call.

"I have to get a better boss…"

* * *

(Justin's POV)

Sitting on the courtyard bench, Justin tried to defeat his nemesis: The Rubik's cube. Of course, he had absolutely no idea how to do it, but it gave him a strange satisfaction to watch the little blocks spin forever. His other Asian friends were obviously masters, but he had no intention of learning how to solve it, it was far too much work. Why would he do that?

"Oh that's so cool!" Justin's eyebrows slightly crease. It was HER again. "How do you guys do that?" He gets the feeling she's talking to him, but he has no intention of answering, and he didn't know anyway.

Vincent is patient enough to tolerate her, though he doesn't seem to mind Grace all that much.

"Here, let me show you" Grace watches with an awed face, seeing the complex enigma spin. Justin sighs. Sure, it was cool, but she didn't have to yell at the whole school.

"THAT'S SO COOL! Can you teach me?" Vincent agrees to show her the basics, with Jason beside him, giving him reminders of certain points to look out for. Grace seems likes she gets it, but Justin doubted any of it was actually processing. His point was proven later on when Vincent handed he cube to her, and she eventually just spun it around, not really accomplishing anything. Everyone laughed and told her how good her first effort was, and then continued on with their lunch.

'Wow, that was so bad' And Justin returned to his own problems.

* * *

(Grace's POV)

'I think I got a little closer to him today' Grace thought to herself happily. She'd notice how her temporary student had watched the whole time at her efforts at the Rubik's cube.

'Just a little more…'

* * *

(Justin's POV)  
Justin yawned and flopped down on the soft evening grass. There'd been a big science test, which was his worst subject, and if he'd passed, that in itself would be a miracle. He pulled out a book that had piqued his interest, and immersed himself in it.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice, and upon recognizing it immediately, without looking up, Justin responded to his student teacher.

"Nothing Grace, just being interrupted. What are you still doing here?" The younger male had no idea what student teachers did after school, but he was pretty sure they didn't stay.

"I could ask you the same thing"

"Well, I'm lying down, enjoying the sun and a good book. What about you?" He could just hear her shrug.

"I felt like it too. Reading and enjoying the sun that is. There a problem?" Justin responded in the negative, and the sun was hidden away again by the clouds.  
"That's better. Then where's your book?" Grace dug in her purse, and took out the same book he was reading.

"I wanted to see what kind of books you prefer" Inwardly, Justin groaned. This was such a nosey woman; she'd already tried the Rubik's cube, now she was even reading the same book!

"That's great, what do you think of it?" Grace closed her eyes and concentrated. God, this woman was so childish he wanted to scream.

"Well… I like how the main character is a girl who is trying to survive her life" Justin remained silent, as his opinion was the same, but he suspected she knew that somehow.

"And why are you here today?"

"Cause I felt like it. So?" It was Justin's turn to shrug in indifference, he just didn't care anymore, this girl would just keep denying it anyway.

"Eh. Is there a specific reason you came to me, and started to talking to me?" Grace didn't say anything.

"Well?"

"Well, I could tell you were thinking" Justin snorted.

"Bravo, you could tell I was thinking, you'll become a telepathic if you keep that up" Grace stuck her tongue out. The woman could be abnormally childish if she ever felt to be so.

"Thank you, but I really want to say is that I know how it feels" Justin leaped to his feet with no hands, and spun around, turning on Grace, so that his face was only a foot away. He would have been closer had he not been half her size.

"And would you know?" He tried to make his tone threatening, but the curiosity drowned out any hostility.

"Yes," Grace agreed calmly. "I would" Justin fell back, and landed on his bottom, then promptly rolling over the grass, trying to decide what his next move would be. He could also be a child if he wanted.

"It feels like you're lonely, even if you're surrounded by your friends. As if you were watching from behind a glass wall, and no matter what you did, you couldn't pass it. Whenever you're alone, the feeling haunts you, and kills you slowly. Then, the only way to escape is through some sort of distraction, and even that doesn't last long" Justin refused to say anything, because he was somewhat pissed off that she was right, that was exactly how it felt. But…

"But even with words, I cannot describe it fully. How about that?" Justin simply walked past her.

"Do you want to know a way to get rid of the feeling?" Justin stopped. He turned.

"How?" He asked, despite the feeling in his stomach. Smiling devilishly, the student teacher held up two DS's.

"Video Game tourney, start!"

* * *

(Grace's POV)

"Hah, I won!" The small moving creatures in the game they competed in dissolved into a Game Over sign, with the older girl's screen flashing with a victory symbol. Justin refused to let the anger show on his face, but his lips tightened.

"Tough luck, you need more practice" Stubbornly refusing to give up, Justin shook his head.

"One more time," He said tightly. "Just one more" Grace laughed, accepting the challenge. After 10 minutes, Justin fury broke loosed, and his fist slammed into the ground.

"Again!" He bellowed. Grace checked her watch.

"Okay, but then I'll have to go back home and get some things done. Can you wait for me for half an hour?"

"Fine, but I'm keeping this for some practice"

"Sure, I'd like to see how much better you get in half an hour" Grace got up and walked away, leaving Justin to start his own single player campaign. 30 minutes later, Grace returned, with Justin waiting for her, a cocky smile playing on his lips.

"Welcome back"

5 minutes later…

Justin lay on the floor, a cursed aura surrounding him, fists in tight balls. Grace is laughing hysterically.

"HA! Good thing I brought out my third best team out. If I hadn't done that, I might have had one guy killed!" Justin vows to beat her at something, promising himself. A light bulb shines above his head.

"How about a different game?" Hoping to trip up the rhythm Grace had come up with in her winning streak, his hopes were crushed once again. Grace held up a twenty-dollar bill.

"Bring it on. There's an arcade nearby" Of course, Grace was just as good, and instead, Justin found his own pace slowing down. Go to an arcade? With HER? No. He told her this, but Grace wasn't about to accept such an answer.

"Why not?" She whined. "I'm trustworthy! I even left you with my DS for half an hour!" He agreed, but this still wasn't enough to trust her with.

"Fine, be that way, I'll always remember the day when a kid was afraid to take on an old person in a game" Justin's eyebrow twitched, and unable to help himself, he rose to the challenge.

"Bring it on!" Grace smiled coyly behind her hand. Men were really such simple fools.

Upon their arrival, Justin steeled his courage. He would find a single game, any, that would increase his chances at gaining the upper hand.

"How about the dancing one?" Another 5 minutes later… Justin is gasping for breath, with Grace, very, very politely waiting for him, not even out of breath. At the moment her smile could have swallowed a banana whole.

"Wanna try again?" Justin finally managed a sentence, pointing at the zombie apocalypse simulator. This time, 6 minutes passed. Justin's finger was cramped, and couldn't let go of the trigger, the adrenaline of multiple undead jumping up at him from everywhere causing his body to go into an unnecessary overdrive. Grace was still having fun, and she was just getting warmed up.

"Oh, let's play that one!" The races were up next, and Justin readied his rocket boost before the countdown finished. 3…2…1… GO!

Over the span of two hours, Justin's losses had grown thrice as big, with Grace's victory streak whizzing away. Finally, the sun was going down, and the arcade's open time was coming to a close.

Justin desperately searched for any game they hadn't yet competed in, but found none.

"Hey, Justin, why don't we play this?" Grace hopped over to a crane game, where you would control an arm to snatch a prize of your choice. The treasure was little key chain smiley faces, bunnies, hearts, video games, and one small sunset. There were two game tokens left, so one try for each of them. Technically, it wasn't a game, but losers couldn't be choosers.

'Just let me win this one God, please' Justin prayed. Sliding the coin in, the crane came to life, then carefully guided it to the closest corner, letting the crane drop… And he got something! He did it! Bringing it back to the basin, he dropped it, and held it in triumph… And turned to see Grace waiting him to finish, with her own toy.

"So, it's a tie" Justin reluctantly said, and the student teacher was graceful enough to let Justin have some sort of win.

"Yup," She snatched up Justin's keychain, and left hers in his hand. "I'll be taking this, and when I deem you ready, I'll give this back to you. So you have to strengthen your skills, and come back another time" The boy agreed.

* * *

(Justin's POV)  
The two sat beside each other, the popsicles Grace had purchased with the last of her money melting on their tongues. While Justin somewhat noisily sucked at his, Grace remembered her manners, and gently licked at hid, but not without gusto.

'That wasn't so bad" He thought to himself. "Nothing went wrong, and I got to play video games for free for hours, and even got a Popsicle' Justin sat back, but while he was still young, he wasn't stupid. 'Not too much anyway' He knew nobody would be so nice without wanting something back.

"I'm not an idiot, I know you were just trying to distract me from my… other thoughts. What do you want?" Grace didn't stop eating, but she shrugged again. Their shoulders were starting to get sore from all the movements their arms had made that day.

"It worked didn't it?" Again, she was right. This was the first distraction that had really kept his attention away from his other thoughts in who knew how long. And it'd taken a single student teacher. Who'd have guessed? "But you're right, I do want something back" He knew it.

"And that would be…?"

"The promise that you wont take your life on some stupid whim" Justin scoffed.

"Course not, I'm not that rash"

"Then there shouldn't be a problem" The silence that followed was a comfortable kind.

"So now what?" He asked. "It's not like you can help me everyday" Grace sighed, and Justin realized that she'd already known about this little problem.

"I know… And I haven't come up with a concrete answer yet. But if I ever do, then I'll share it with you okay?" They sat in silence, with Justin's thoughts whirling. He still thought that the girl was weird, and he was sure as hell he wasn't in love with her… But… She was the one who'd saved him from a bit of Hell for a day, and was searching for a way to keep Hell at bay forever. And he wanted to help her.

"So, is there any way I can lend a hand?" Grace laughed gently, but the boy could tell there was no malice in it.

"No, thanks for offering," Justin persisted, hearing the slightest of hesitation in her voice. "Well… No, it's too early. How about this? Grow up, get used to it for a while longer, and then… Just maybe I'll let you help. Deal?" Justin agreed enthusiastically, the promise already putting something to look forward to in his heart, and in days to come, that would save him, over and over again.

* * *

(Grace's POV)

"I like him, he was fun to play with" The man beside her grunted, and flipped a page in his book.

"Sure, that's just cause you just had to play all day to help him. He was one of your easier jobs" Grace propped her elbow on the steel restaurant chair, where she could clearly see and smell the hubbub of the city.

"Yeah, but it wasn't just that. He was the same as me, he had the same issues"

"If you ask me, that's really just extreme boredom" Grace slapped the other man.

"Shut up Marvin, you weren't much better" Marvin closed his book, as his credit card was returned, and he and Grace got up to leave.  
"So? At least I'm not trying to hide it, and I just had some… urges. It was a more serious problem, and I required HIS extreme attention" Grace rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, we've already been told by the boss himself, the only reason he personally looked after you was because you tried to attack him, and he needed you to pay for the damages on his clothes" His glory stolen, Marvin dropped the subject.

"So, whose my next poor child?" Marvin brings out his phone, and a list of name brightens his screen.

"Ah… A certain girl named Alexandra Grett. Seems her problem is the more common one: Bullying. But while she does try to fight back, apparently her whole school is against her, even the damn principle. You have… Wow, must be serious, you've been given months to help her. Good luck with that" Grace, flicked her hair back, and skipped ahead.

"Bring it on"

* * *

Just in case you were wondering DIB, none of this happened on such a grand scale, but it's good material for a story. Awkward and I hope you enjoyed.

- Justin, Lover of anime, enemy of haters, and family to all my otaku brothers and sisters. Welcome to my world! XD


End file.
